The traditional neck of a guitar has frets on the face below the guitar strings enabling the musician to control the notes played by pressing the guitar strings down on the chosen fret or frets issuing the desired individual note or pitch sounded with every different fret and string combination on the neck of a traditional guitar.
Formerly the traditional guitar neck is a delicately fashioned design made standard enabling the musician to recognize the same notes or pitches to create songs on every standard guitar. The frets cascade in size and shape while moving down the neck in a unified manor while the lengths of each fret are gradually made smaller to capture standard notes or pitches perfectly from one fret bar to the next. When pressing a string on any chosen fret of the neck on a guitar, the distance of the string length issues accurate notes or pitches for every fret on the guitar neck when played by a musician.
The traditional guitar neck is constructed from wood in two basic layers. The face of the guitar neck is the fretboard made from a thin layer of higher quality wood such as maple or rosewood. The actual guitar neck is constructed with a less dense wood to exact dimension and shaped together with the fretboard on the face and with exact length width and shape standard shaping to create accurate notes and pitches.
The fret bars are steel dividers dividing each fret horizontally where by the musician firmly places a finger on a fret in front of the fret bar, the string length is held on the fret bar to produce a standard note or pitch distinctly unique to all other fret and string combinations.
On Oct. 23, 1979 Floyd Rose was granted patent for his Guitar tremolo method and apparatus invention U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,661A two days after my fourth birthday. The invention historically impacted lead guitar and guitar solos to this day and forward. With the use of the Floyd Rose tremolo and “whammy bar” system, musicians are able to create a diverse array of pitches from applying pressure to the “whammy bar” and movable tremolo system bending the strings directly from the bottom string contact point, or the bridge dramatically impacting the pitches sounded.
My invention is similar allowing for extreme bending of guitar strings for drastic pitch options deriving from the neck and fret contact point of the guitar strings. Where my invention differs is the shaping of individual frets allows the musician to make drastic string bends producing multiple pitches from any contact of strings made directly from the neck of the guitar, and not from the bridge and tremolo system. The Floyd Rose tremolo enhances extreme string bending and multiple pitch options at the bridge where my invention enhances major string bending and pitch options from any point of the neck of a guitar.
Poor invented an attachable raised fretboard for a fretless guitar to provide easier fingering, a clear sound, and to reduce wear on the fretboard. The Fingerboard invention U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,816A has raised edges and recesses from fret blocks placed on a fretboard. My invention differs as my recesses are vividly shaped into the fretboard itself and sculpted into shapes deliberately to produce deep string bends for aggressive pitch change options.
In 1978 Allen Gittler was patented U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,652A for a very unique guitar design which was made of all steel consisting of a steel bar as a guitar neck and only slotted steel frets protruding up from the steel rod neck. Gittler's invention is similar to mine as negative space is obviously used within the design. Where our inventions part ways are that my invention is made of sculpted wood. The pitch changes made on my invention are also made by pulling a string on the side and even behind the neck due to the unique shaping of frets. Each unique invention could not be played in the same way nor could the same sounds possibly be created as these are both unique and different stringed instruments all together. Gittler's frets are rectangular steel bars welded to a steel bar neck. My frets are sculpted into the wooden neck of a guitar with fret shapes appearing like a half circle or pyramid like shaping to the artist's rendering.
Rubman U.S. Pat. No. 9,082,385B2 invented a very similar metal instrument to that of Gittler's design but with metal pickups connected to the steel rods and lights on each fret with negative spacing yet an altogether different playing instrument than a sculpted neck guitar. It would be impossible to pull the strings on the sides of the latter two inventions to arrive at a different pitch with the string making critical contact with a lower fret deriving from a horizontal pull from the originating fret as achieved through my design.
Valdez U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,765A designed a guitar neck creating notches on the top of the neck for thumb guides. While this design has shaping into the neck of the guitar, the shaping serves to guide a musician's thumb placement. The shaping mentioned does not reach into the face of the guitar nor does it affect the sounds made from the guitar as does a Sculpted Neck Guitar.
Wilson in US 2013/0255465 manipulated the traditional neck achieving a design that conforms to a musician's hand while playing. This design cuts into the neck for a more comfortable shape to the hand for playing. Again, his shaping does not coexist into the face of the fret board itself and also does not affect the sounds or pitches produced from my design where the individual frets are specifically designed both into the fret board face and likewise around the neck dramatically affecting the pitches one can create with each new sculptured fret.
Pye with US 2004/0173080 changed the pitches with his design through moving the steel frets on the face of the guitar neck diagonally as opposed to horizontal frets. His unique design certainly manipulates the sounds made and offers a new playing style. The sculptured neck guitar design actually adds multiple dimensions of pitches offered from each cut and shaped fret and is designed to be played with the new ability to pull and bend the strings on the sides of the neck nearly to the back creating a new dimension of pitches for some intense solo art work by the musician.
Michael Lindell U.S. Pat. No. 7,461,424B2 must have done some camping in northern Minnesota in order to mastermind his invention, My Pillow. My father brought me camping in northern Minnesota as a child portaging canoes mile into a very beautiful area bordering Canada where you could drink pure water strait from the lake without any worry. My father among many insisted that a small layer of foam underneath a sleeping bag or his head achieved optimum comfort on the trail. Mr. Lindell took this concept further by adding small pieces of foam to the center of his pillow. He then ran an advertising campaign so redundantly saturating the minds of the American people that many are now proud owners of My Pillow. You cannot find a TV or computer made in America but you sure can find a pillow made in the USA today. Everything, even electronics were made in the USA in my late grandfather's time of WW2 as I have antiques to prove this from this decorated Navy Lieutenant and true gentleman exuding whit, humor, charm and class unmatched as I have not once in my life met his equal.
All of the ideas and inventions mentioned are a concupiscence of real American ingenuity and follow the true entrepreneurial spirit of the founders of our great country who backed by faith and will to beat all odds through uncompromising vision of freedom and liberty conceived this American dream. It is well known that you will assuredly not get a good night of rest backing your head on a Sculptured Neck Guitar like you absolutely will, and even may have resoundingly better dreams in slumber on Lindell's invention. Both inventions were born in America under the unequivocal pursuit to improve life lived in some fashion.